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Abandoned - Mayville - Story 68

Started by Abandoned, April 29, 2021, 06:25:25 AM

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Abandoned

Intro


  This is the 68th story in the Smallville Series and tells the tale of 8 families who resettled the town of Mayville after a deadly tornado cut through the  area.  It was the 2nd such storm to hit their town located southeast of O'Leary's Farm of story 41 and north of Springfield story 23 which was settled by expedition 13 from Smallville the following year.  After the tornado 6 surviving families decided to abandon what was left of Mayville but a short distance from town they met with 2 other surviving families who convinced them they would be wiser to go back and resettle the town because of the wide-spread devastation to the surrounding area.  The story begins in late summer of year 52 SVT.


The map seed  # 949832329    Valley,   Small,   Fair,   Disasters On,   Easy  8 Families


Mods activated for this map and load order are:


Map Changing and Starting Mods:   Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, Jinxie Natural Decorations, Maritimes Riffle, New Flora Edit, New Trees, override Fewer Trees,  Family Starts

Tweak Mods:  Better Fields, Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting (TS), Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), override Rural Citizens, Rocks Respawn, Tiny Smoke

Major or Must Have Mods:    An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), Storage Crates, DS Jetty and Bridges v1, Jinxie Bitty Chicken Coop, Jinxie Bitty Rabbit Hutch, Jinxie Bitty Village Set, Kid Abandoned Places SE,  Kid Colonial City Center, Kid Colonial Housing, Kid Colonial Resources, Kid Ghost Town, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace, Maritimes PEI Shore

Supporting Mods:   Carrots, Country House v2, DS Fences and Decorations, Grow Onions, Kid Animal Shed SA2, Kid Deco People, Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Garden Shed II,  Kid Ghost Flowers, Kid GrowHuntFish, Kid Hedgerow (new, testing), Kid New Pump, Kid Vegetable Garden,  Kid Washing Mod, Kid Work Shop, Maypole


Mod note:   Kid Hedgerow is a new mod inspired by Kid Fairy Garden mod and a request for a separate hedgerow. There are 3 types and 3 sizes of hedgerow for spring, summer, and fall plus 1 for winter.  They can of course be used in any season and any combination.  The sizes are a 6x3 garden type, a 7x2 hedgerow, and a 10x1 sparse roadside one.  They look much better than they will first appear in the following story.  Abandoned Places has been updated with weeds and dead things for this story, the update will probably not be released as we don't think it will be much use to others. 


With that said, on with the story.

Abandoned

#1
Prologue


  Greetings, weary traveler and welcome to Mayville.  I am not surprised that you had not heard of our town or the fact that we were also hit by the deadly tornado of year 52 SVT.  Our town had been hit before by nor'easterns that came in from the coast.  We suffered many losses and many buildings were still boarded up from the previous storm when the 2nd storm hit, but it was O'Leary's Farm that was hit the worst.  That destruction was as devastating to us as our own was, they were kinfolk.

  Yes, kinfolk.  My grandfather several times removed was an O'Leary who came here on the Maybelle from the old country with other migrating families many years ago.  My ancestral grandfather stayed here near the coast with his new bride and her kin who were fisherfolk.  The O'Leary clan went further inland to farm potatoes.  It's said that I am the spittin image of that founding bride, my ancestral grandmother.  My name is Saraina, Sara for short, and my husband is  Edwardell.

  Ed and I were very young with a newborn at the time.  There were only 6 families that survived.  As I said, the town was already damaged from the previous storm and many of the older buildings were in sad states of disrepair, many of the survivors of that storm were badly injured and could not do the work, much was neglected.  After the big storm, the damage was just too much for those of us who remained.  We buried the dead in the old cemetery and prepared to leave for O'Leary's Farm.  We were almost there when we met 2 families from that area who told us what had happened to the farm.  They convinced us to come back here and rebuilt, they would come with us to help.  We did not know where to begin.

Abandoned

#2
Chapter 1


  There was not much left of Mayville after that second storm, it was a ghost town, sad and empty.  Our jetty system and fisheries were gone, we relied on that tidal pool for fish and seafood.  Our trading post and most of the buildings on the west side by the river were also gone.  The bridge across the river had been swept away, we had to leave our carts of supplies behind when we left but at least they were still here when we returned.  The rabbits from the destroyed rabbit hutch were in the hedgerow.  The school, sheep shed, clothes store, and the hardware store were severely damaged.  It seemed the oldest boarded-up buildings weathered the storm better than the new ones.  The farmhouses across the stream held up well but the chicken coop was destroyed and the crop fields were a mess.  There were branches and debris all over town.  At least the 2 small bridges that crossed the stream were in tack and Sham who moved back into his farmhouse was already fishing from one of the bridges.  We would have enough food for the winter from our carts of supplies and what little the two families had salvaged from their homestead.

Abandoned

#3
Chapter 2


  The two couples that returned to Mayville with us were a bit older and more experienced and good at organizing.  We were more than happy to let them take charge.  They got the men together to go house to house to make sure the structures were sound enough to move back into until proper repairs could be made.  Ed and I moved back into our cottage by the tidal pool.  With a few minor repairs there were more than enough houses for all the families to have shelter before the snow began to fall.

   We would not be able to sit by the fire and wait till spring, there was work to be done.  A notice board was put up by the main stockpile with a list of jobs that need to be done. The animal shelters had to be rebuilt first.  The school needed to be rebuilt so the children could be watched in a safe place while their mothers helped with the tasks.  There was a lot of cleanup that needed to be done, branches to be picked up and added to the stockpile for firewood and plant debris removed from the fields and hedgerows.

  The rabbit hutch was rebuilt and as many rabbits as possible were caught and returned to the hutch.  Some rabbits were still hiding in the nearby hedgerow that was being cleaned of weeds and plant debris.  The chicken coop was also rebuilt and after some chasing all the chickens were removed from the crop fields and returned to the coop.  Work on cleaning up the fields had begun, they would be ready for spring planting.

Abandoned

#4
Chapter 3


  The sheep were returned to the rebuilt sheep shed and the clothes store was rebuilt and the tailor was making warm coats.  The school building was finished and all branches and plant debris was removed from the surrounding area.  And then it was spring. The wheat and potatoes were being planted in the crop fields and the hedgerows that had been cleaned of weeds and debris were now thriving.  The yellow flowering forsythias bushes were in full bloom and the wild asparagus was coming up.  We erected a maypole by the school for May Day as a way to celebrate our new beginning.  We had a feeling there would be no springtime festivals in the nearby Shire for some years to come.

  There would be plenty more branches to gather but we needed a steady supply of firewood.  A wood cutter was built by the main stockpile.  Work on the destroyed hardware store had just begun when 2 families who had abandoned their destroyed homestead arrived in town.

Abandoned

#5
Chapter 4


  The family of 4 moved into the empty farmhouse next to Sham and Anti.  The older couple stayed with them until their expected infant was born and the other vacant house was inspected.  They passed it when they arrived.  We had forgotten about that old abandoned cottage back in the hills to the south.  If I remembered correctly there was a small storage barn, a garden, and a paint house there too.  The couple couldn't help but notice the cracked and pealing paint on most of the houses and said they had seen an exhibit on paint making at one of the Shire festivals a few years earlier. They would be happy to move to that cottage and give paint making a try. The cottage was inspected for safety and the couple moved in.  They began to clean up the area immediately. 

  A hunting cabin was built between the paint house cottage and town.  We did not have a regular  hunter before, every year after the harvest a few men would go out and hunt before winter.

  By late autumn the hardware store was rebuilt and making tools.   More cleanup was completed and the cemetery had been weeded.  Maybe next year we could plant some flowers.

Abandoned

#6
Chapter 5


  As soon as the weather warmed in spring, I transplanted wild flax and mayflowers into the cemetery, Ed planted 2 forsythia bushes by the entrance.  It was then that 6 adults with 2 children came over the hill from the northeast and it was then that we remembered that big old house by the river.  The families had waited for low tide to cross the river then broke into the house to shelter for the night.  Their story was much the same as the other families', their small homestead was destroyed. A boatman sent them in this direction, said there was a new town called Springfield settled by an expedition from Smallville that would take them in.  He also said there had been some young O'Leary survivors who went north to Sunrise Mountain.  We were glad to hear that news but we didn't know anything about a new town to the south.  They were welcome to stay with us, we could use the help.  The newcomers didn't want to cause us extra work and would stay in that forgotten house until new houses were built.

  I asked Ed and a few others what they remembered about that old place and they all said much the same thing, that we were told as children to stay away from it.  No one gave it much thought since then.  I had some nagging half-forgotten little memory that was buried and just wouldn't surface. 

  A colonial house was built for the family of 4 by the hunting cabin.  They would hunt and help with cleanup.   Another small colonial house was built for a single young adult girl back where the paint house and garden were now being renovated.  She would work one of the hedgerows.  The remaining family still in the forgotten house was a widow with 2 children who was expecting another any day, she lost her husband in the storm.  Her adult son was now head of the household.  They were very happy to move before winter into the good-sized country house built by the farm fields.  Aretzi had another daughter and hoped she would be able to sleep better in the new house even with a newborn.  She was awakened several time in that old forgotten house by what sounded to her like someone calling from outside.  It was always closer to dawn than during the night, she would then not be able to get back to sleep.  It was probably just the wind blowing through the cracks in that old house.

Abandoned

#7
Chapter 6


  That winter of year 3 was cold and windy and had us all longing to have our houses renovated.  We had a log shortage and thus a firewood shortage as well.  We spent a lot of time out in the cold gathering branches and cutting trees.  We began scavenging from one of the ruins but we still had way too few workers for the amount of work that needed to be done.  We would need paint for the renovations and that would take time.  We all agreed the Doc's office behind that ruin should be done first as soon as we had the paint.  We also agreed we would need a place to stay while the house renovations were being done, so as soon as we had enough logs, we would build a Lodging house.

  As soon as spring arrived we were again picking those asparagus spears by the roadside, and we again looked forward to strawberries from the hedgerows by the renovated paint house.  Another hedgerow there would provide sunseeds to snack on and more flax to make the linseed oil needed for the paint house.  The roadside hedgerow also provided more flax but, to our surprise, a nearby flock of grouse kept laying eggs in it, we gathered those too.  The flax garden had done well but had switched to making linseed oil.  It was snowing by the time the first paint was produced.

Abandoned

#8
Chapter 7


  We were still short of logs, work on rebuilding the jetty had begun using boards and scrap wood found in the ruins.  Not much could be done until the debris was removed from the tidal pool, it was too dangerous.  A driftwood collector and boat was built to do the job and provide more logs and firewood at the same time.

  In the meantime, Doc's hospital building was restored.  It would need some furnishings and linen before it could be used.  We needed more paint before starting on restoring our houses.  Another flax garden was planted by the paint house,  one garden could make the linseed oil while the other produced more flax.

  Another of our concerns was the condition of our storage barns and the location of items on our stockpiles.  It was suggested that we could build a compost bin and garden supply shed to remove the plant debris from the stockpiles, compost it, and store compost and other garden supplies in the shed.  We could build a small growing house later on to use the compost.  We thought this was a great idea and were very grateful to have the older couples here with us.  They were more experienced and had learned much at the Hobbit festivals over the years, like paint making and composting.  Added to that they were always supportive and encouraging, assuring us that we were doing well and the town was progressing nicely.  No one ever complained about the poor living conditions.

  The compost bin, cleaning shed, and garden supply shed were built along side of the potato field.  Extra carts would be kept there for anyone who wanted or needed to use one.  One of the farmers said their farm cart had gone missing, was nowhere to be found one morning.  It was later found with fish in it by the jetty. Yes, strange.  The carts of supplies were still by the barn there and since that barn was in bad shape and almost empty we demolished it completely and built a general store in its place.  The other 2 storage barns were almost full, they would need to be emptied, and would need paint.

Abandoned

#9
Chapter 8


  While building the general store we couldn't help but notice that not only was the driftwood collector make some progress cleaning up the tidal pool but our log and firewood supply had improved.  There was still debris coming down the river which was probably keeping the riverboat traders away, the river would clear itself in time.  With more logs and some paint on hand it was time to start renovating the cold drafty houses.  The one next to the general store was first.  The family chose to stay in the old forgotten house by the river rather than the new Lodging nearby.  They did say they thought they heard a voice calling outside early one morning but weren't sure.  Maybe that was why the families from the blue house and the white house across from them also chose to stay there while their houses were renovated.  They heard nothing.

  While waiting for more paint, a new barn was built by the farms.  The damaged blue one would be restored after the houses were done.  The 2 farm houses were next and both families stayed at the Lodging house in town.  So did the family from the yellow house in town, they moved out of the Lodging House as soon as theirs was done.

  The tidal pool was vastly improved, there was less debris coming down the river, and clean up of the trading post area had begun while waiting again for paint.  Work was stopped at one of the flax gardens so another worker could work in the paint house.  A new barn was built so the old one could be demolished.  The cottage was next to be restored.  We hoped to have the remaining 2 houses in town done by the end of the year.

Abandoned

#10
Chapter 9


  The last 2 houses in town were restored before the end of year 7, both families stayed at the Lodging House in town.  Ours was the only house left to be restored.  Ed wanted to know where I wanted to stay while the work was being done, he knew I was still bothered by that nagging little lost memory.  Had I not been expecting another child I would have chosen to stay in that big old house.  Our baby girl was born in the Lodging House in summer of year 8 just before we moved back to our restored cottage.  That old house by the river was again forgotten.

  The trading post had been rebuilt and was being stocked with our surplus of stone, iron, and textiles.  Lotte, the general goods merchant, came to port in autumn.  He confirmed there were O'Leary survivors. Actually he had sugar cookies to trade from the O'Learys up in Morningside.  He knew of some other survivors who were still really struggling, he would tell them they'd be welcome here if they wanted to come.  Trade goods of every kind were needed, we would keep that in mind.  We traded for those cookies.  He also had some seafood and it really had me hoping that work on the jetties would begin again soon.

  With the houses restored folks wanted some new furnishings.  A furniture store was built in town next to the ruin that was still providing us with logs, stone, and iron.  A cobbler shop was built next to the clothing store, new clothes and new shoes were certainly welcome. 

  We certainly would welcome new residents, we only now had our first 2 school graduates.  We had more work to be done than workers to do it.

Abandoned

#11
Chapter 10


  In early spring of year 8 my wish was granted, work on the jetty resumed.  There was still some driftwood that washed into the tidal pool but most was cleaned up.  The fishermen wanted some left along shore for the fish to hide in and breed.

  In spring the survivors that Lotte mentioned arrived.  There were 11 of them, 3 couples, 1 young child, and 4 young singles orphaned by the storm, that the older couple had raised.  They had no school and barely managed to keep the young ones fed and clothed.  The couple did a good job because the young adults did not hesitate to pitch in doing work that needed to be done.   Two jetty houses were built, one couple took over fishing from the jetty, and young Hayde built a bait shop.  Young Renatalind moved into the new Home Goods store upstairs and took over tending the sheep next door in the sheep shed.  Zacharlyn moved into the new lighthouse and began cleaning up one of the ruins by the trading post.  Two new farmhouses were built for the older couple and their newborn,  and another young single.  The last young girl, Herline, said she would be happy staying in the Lodging house but Aime in the colonial house back by the paint house moved into the bait shop with young Hayde, and Herline moved into her house.

  Work continued throughout that year and well into the next trying to maintain our food, log, and firewood supply.  Work on the jetty continued but was slow going.  By summer of year 10 we were finally harvesting clams and mussels from the jetty fisheries.  The family in one of the jetty houses reported what they said sounded like a wheelbarrow on the jetties at dawn and someone calling.  Later that morning one of the jetty carts was missing.

  Near the end of the year there was another report of a missing cart.  Lotte brought mixed vegetable seeds that we traded stone, iron, and textiles for.  He also gave us a handful of tomato seeds that the couple who told us about the compost bin said we could grow in a growing house using the compost.  We accepted the seeds and built a growing house by the couple's house.  Work also resumed at the cleaning shed and compost bin.  One of their carts went missing.

Abandoned

#12
Chapter 11 


  And then it was spring again and the crops were being planted and the hothouse tomatoes were coming up in the growing house.  The new mixed vegetable seeds were being planted in the field closest to the blue shed.  The wild asparagus was being picked alongside the road by the Maypole.  The fisherfolk were enjoying warmer days out on the jetty fishing and harvesting clams and mussels.  One of them asked if it was me they saw early one morning by the new fish market with a wheelbarrow.  It wasn't me.  We also had a new Town Hall on main street near the trading post.  We also had another woodcutter by that stockpile now, there was still the constant struggle for logs and firewood.

  Our food supply was very good and the new vegetable crop was doing well.  A vegetable garden workplace was built by the blue farm shed to sort the vegetables.  There were plenty of beans, peppers, squash, potatoes, pumpkins, and cabbage harvested from the mixed vegetable field and there were still more in the shed to be sorted.

  There was a big windmill built by the red barn, it would catch the wind coming over the hilltop and mill the wheat into flour.  We  began building a bakery in town by the school.  We could bake herb bread until we could trade for sugar to make some of those delicious sugar cookies.   

  There was a note on the notice board in town reminding people to be sure to return the carts and barrows they used to the places they got them from.

Abandoned

#13
Chapter 12


  It snowed in early spring of year 12.  It gave us some time to think of plans for the year ahead.  We needed houses for young people still living at home and we needed another school, there was room for only 1 more student in the schoolhouse in town.  We did still struggle with our supply of logs and firewood.  First things first, we built another schoolhouse down past the farms.  We built a few new pumps around town in case of fire, the first was built by that school which was far from the stream or river.

  The woodcutter and smith in town were always looking for logs.  There was not much more to salvage from the tidal pool.  The large stockpile that was empty most of the time was removed and a wood store was built in its place.  A worker could go fetch logs from the other stockpiles.  A small stockpile was set up by the smith.  A new woodcutter was built across the stream by the farms but there were no logs there at all.  We cut a few trees. 

  The area to the west on the other side of the hill might be a good place for a forester.  That area was hit directly with the cold winter wind that blew down from the north across the open moors, it would not be a good place for crop fields or fruit trees.  We thought perhaps a garden shed forester by the farm fields would be a quick solution, with a bridge across the stream logs would be available to both town and country residents.  A small colonial house was built there as well and a young couple promptly moved in.  Hopefully we would spend less time that winter collecting firewood.

Abandoned

#14
Chapter 13


  By early spring of year 13 a young single male moved into the new barber shop next to Doc's hospital, another became caretaker of the cemetery where a small colonial chapel was built.  Ed and I planted some wild roses by the chapel.  I checked on the cemetery plants as I've always done and again I wished I had paid more attention to the stories the old folks would tell us when we were young.

  A post office was built by the town hall and trading post.  Letters could be left at the post office and the river boatman would try to deliver them.  I left a letter for any O'Leary in Morningside who might know anything about our town's history or have any information about that old forgotten house by the river.

  Resources were still being scavenged from the 2 ruins by the trading post, the stone would be used as a trade good.  The stock pile in front of the post office was emptied and a new one built farther back from the road.  When Lotte came to port later in the year we traded stone for sugar and he took the letter.